Chapter 9. Boundaries and Walls (2)
Chapter 9. Boundaries and Walls (2)
"Ah, it wasn't borrowed with money. Don't worry. There's no need to pay it back later or anything."
"......."
Ria saw right through my worry at once and said that. I'd been mentally tallying up the cost for no reason, and I felt a little stung.
"I helped her out once before."
"Yes, Chae-eun received a really huge help back then!"
The woman who appeared to be the shop owner said that with a bright smile. She looked to be in her early thirties, and running a shop like this.......
Hmm, honestly, I don't know exactly what level of ability that takes. In my Past Life, I only worked at a company for a short time, so that's all I have to go on.
.......
Short time? Huh, was that right?
I do have memories of it being short. It hadn't been long since I'd gotten the job. I had definitely lived until my mid-twenties.
Then I read that novel, sent a sponsorship message to the author, and the next day I came to this world. I remembered that clearly.
"Anna?"
As I was tilting my head to myself, Ria spoke to me.
"What's wrong?"
"Uh, no. It's nothing."
I didn't know what that sense of wrongness actually was. I had felt it once before, but I hadn't been able to pinpoint exactly what that sense of wrongness was.
"What, you can't believe I saved someone?"
Ria said that like she was joking, so I shrugged my shoulders.
"That's not it. If it's you, Ria, you must have done incredible work up until now."
"......Really?"
Ria seemed to be in a better mood after hearing my praise, for some reason.
"Well, fine. No matter how you slice it, we can't waste too much time. Let's hurry up and pick something. I'll help you."
"So what you're saying is, I have to try on swimsuits in front of you, Ria?"
"Right? Honestly, I don't trust your sense at all."
"......."
I narrowed my eyes and glared at Ria.
I'd never picked out clothes in this world, but swimsuits are all pretty much the same anyway, aren't they?
As long as I don't pick something too flashy, it doesn't really matter, does it? My face is pretty, and my figure's on the pretty side too. I figure even if I pick some plain swimsuit, it'll probably look fine on me.
"Come on, come on, don't make that face."
Ria lightly pushed my shoulder and headed deeper into the shop.
Why is she so serious about this?
Isn't it just that she wants to go to the beach herself?
......Well, it is worth going, I guess. She was at the age where you really want to go. On top of that, Ria would probably be popular at the beach, so there's even less reason for her not to go. Even if she didn't meet any guys, she could still show off her figure.
"......."
Thinking about it somehow pissed me off.
Even if we aren't dating, the idea of the pretty girls around me getting boyfriends doesn't seem like a very pleasant thing. Not that there was any possibility or anything between us anyway.
Because of that odd, unsettled feeling, the sense of wrongness in my head vanished before it even had a chance to take hold.
*
Even someone like me with no interest in fashion knows what kinds of swimsuits exist.
I also know that there are swimsuits without much exposure.
Even if it's not a one-piece, there are things like rash guards, and there are even ones you wear like an outer layer.
I never had a girlfriend, so I'd never seen my girlfriend wear one, but it's not like I'd never been to a pool or the beach. Besides, beach episodes show up constantly in movies, dramas, and comics.
"But why do you keep bringing me these?"
I said, holding bikinis in both hands. Both of them were bikinis. One was black like a nun's habit, and the other was a weird leopard print.
If I had to choose, I'd pick the black one, but blaming my "sense" is a little suspicious when both options are like this.
"Don't you at least have something like a competition swimsuit?"
"Going all the way to the beach and wearing something like that is a bit much, don't you think?"
Ria answered my question like I was being ridiculous, and that made me feel ridiculous too.
"......We're going in the water, and you're splitting hairs over swimsuit types?"
"Anna, there's such a thing as dressing appropriately for wherever you go."
Ria said that as if it were some immutable piece of common sense.
"As far as I remember, living as a nun, there was never a time I couldn't go somewhere in a nun's habit."
"Didn't I tell you? If you go to the beach in a nun's habit, you'll actually stand out way more."
"......."
That was logic I couldn't argue against, so I shut my mouth again.
"No, more importantly, why are you in the changing room that says one person at a time? It's written right outside that people should go in one at a time."
I don't really know why two people going into a changing room is specifically prohibited.
.......
Ah, now I think I get it. Even if the two people aren't of opposite sexes, that kind of situation can definitely happen.
Not that it would ever happen to me.
But thinking about it somehow made me even more annoyed.
What the hell, she was talking to me about getting hit on and whatever, but isn't Ria in that same position herself? She's pretty, and she even has a certain amount of fame.
And her figure is good too. Honestly, it's the kind of figure anyone would call unreal.
She keeps getting on my case, but I've got plenty of my own thoughts on the matter. In fact, they keep coming to mind so much it's driving me crazy.
I have boundaries I've set for myself.
The work I did in my Past Life was, in its own way, work that helped people. Among them were older folks, and on the other hand, people who were much younger. There were also people whose bodies were around my age but whose minds were far younger.
Working in a place like that, the most important thing you have to establish is the line you must never cross. Otherwise, problems will definitely blow up somewhere. Not just the boundaries between me and other people, but the boundaries between people themselves.
The reason I generally wanted to be alone before Ria came along was partly because I didn't want to cross those boundaries. I know full well that I'm not some purely good person.
But whenever I was next to Ria, those boundaries kept threatening to collapse. And it wasn't Ria breaking them down—it was the sensation that I was the one swaying and about to topple over toward her.
Whatever else, I want to keep my relationship with Ria going. I hoped this "close" relationship would last a long time, if possible.
"What's the big deal, we're both girls. We spend time together anyway, don't we? Clothes too...... huh?"
"We change clothes separately."
I said with a nod.
I can also make the excuse that I'm not being overly fussy. Basically, inside the convent, too much physical contact between people of the same sex is problematic.
The Church knows how dangerous it is when "boundaries" collapse.
Well, the scope of that "danger" is extremely religious, but...... still, that kind of thing happening in the dormitory is a bit much.
"And no matter how much we're both girls, you don't undress in front of the other person, you know? You just naturally change in the same place."
"Uh, uh...... yeah, that's true."
Ria eventually conceded that.
"And honestly, handing me swimsuits like that does feel a little like you're teasing me. There's no rule that says you have to wear a bikini just because it's the beach, right? I know what kinds of swimsuits exist too."
At my words, Ria blinked.
This time, she had a look like she'd been caught off guard. So she really was trying to tease me...... huh.
It was a caught-off-guard look, but there was a strange sense of injustice lingering in it.
If she wasn't trying to tease me, then what was it for?
"Ah, anyway."
And after seeing that face, my mood turned strange again, so I quickly spoke.
"Then you try something on first, Ria."
I pointed at Ria with my finger.
"You try something on first, and if you pick a swimsuit like that, then I'll pick one like that too. Go ahead and show me, someone who knows nothing, how it's properly done."
"......."
At my words, Ria stared blankly for a moment—
"......Fine."
She said, looking at me with eyes that were blazing.
"So you're saying if I wear it, you'll wear it too? Something similar, I mean."
"Uh, hey, Ria?"
But by the time I saw her like that and tried to say something to stop her, it already seemed too late.
"......Fine. I'll go pick one out, so you wait here."
Ria said that, then shoved the changing room curtain aside with a snap and strode out.
I could only stare blankly at her back as she went.
.......
No, but why did she specifically tell me to wait here......?
*
Well, Ria's common sense itself was apparently normal common sense, because when she changed clothes, she sent me outside first.
For some reason, I paced back and forth in front of it in an incredibly anxious state, listening to the sound of fabric brushing against Ria's skin.
About five minutes later, the movement inside stopped.
"Ria?"
When no sound came for a long while, I carefully called her name.
I heard a sound like someone flinching in surprise inside, then the curtain opened slightly and Ria poked her head out.
"Hey, Anna."
Ria spoke with a very serious expression.
"How about we call it a draw?"
"......."
I stared blankly at Ria for a moment,
then gently placed my hand on the curtain.
"If you started the fight, you have to see the result. Show me. What exactly are you wearing?"
"Uh, no, wait, hey."
"Whoa, if you grip it that hard, it might rip, you know?"
I smiled—slowly—and pulled on the curtain.
We wrestled over that curtain for nearly a full minute, and in the end, since Ria couldn't change back into her clothes while doing that, she let go of the curtain and the fight ended.
And Ria inside was, well.
She was incredible in more ways than one.
"Ria, let's just call it a draw."
I said with a serious expression, but Ria, who had already shown me that sight, wore a fierce smile on her face and said,
"......If you started the fight, you have to see the result."
Hmm.
I should have just agreed to the draw when she offered.
I pressed my hand to my forehead.